DARPA, Homeland Security to headline NYIT cybersecurity conference

Distinguished speakers and critical intelligence issues will set the tone at the New York Institute of Technology’s sixth-annual cybersecurity conference.

Intended to stimulate dialogue, share ideas and promote networking among leading cybercrime-defense thinkers, the conference is scheduled for Sept. 24 at NYIT’s Manhattan auditorium. Listed keynote speakers include Andy Ozment, a Department of Homeland Security expert in cybersecurity, and Angelos Keromytis of DARPA, the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Nada-Marie Anid, dean of NYT’s engineering and computer science schools at the NYC and Old Westbury campuses, called the event “more of a forum than a purely academic-research conference.”

“Government officials, businesses and students, can listen to the latest trends and pick up new ideas, tools and approaches … from leading experts in the field,” Anid told Innovate LI.

The conference will also unite cyber experts from academic, commercial and other government organizations, slated to address topics including privacy and authentication, mobile security, protecting critical infrastructure from cyberattacks and new frontiers in cyber research.

A number of speeches and panel discussions are also planned for the eight-hour event, with panelists expected to include professors from NYIT, New York University and Columbia University; corporate managers and IT officers from Northrop Grumman, Dell, IBM and other major tech firms; representatives of the Army Cyber Institute, the New York Power Authority and other government and public institutions; and lawmakers including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

Likely to come up are several high-profile cyberattacks over the last few years, including hacks of the U.S. and Canadian governments, Sony Pictures Entertainment, assorted national retailers and extramarital-affair site Ashley Madison.

“We see breaches on a weekly basis, impacting millions of citizens,” Anid said. “That’s leading to a big demand in skilled engineering and computer scientists.”